If you could go back in time 25 years with a large pile of money to invest, what would you do with it? Though this might have seemed strange at the time, it turns out that the fourth generation of Toyota Supras — known as the A80, and manufactured from 1993 to 2002 — have become hot commodities in the automotive world.
A recent report at Autoblog has information on an auction conducted by Stanley J. Paine in which Supras from the 1990s sold for staggering prices. A 1998 Supra Turbo sold for $265,000, while a 1993 Supra Turbo with just over 8,000 miles sold for $237,500. As Autoblog’s Ronan Glon writes, “Toyota charged $39,198 for the turbocharged Supra in 1998, which represents about $69,600 in 2022.”
More than tripling its value is no small accomplishment — and it’s another sign of continuing demand for these Supras.
Not long ago, Car and Driver reprinted John Phillips’s 1993 review of the Supra, which offers a few clues as to why this generation of Supras has remained so popular. “[I]t is also true that the manual-box Lexus SC300 and this new Supra are almost fraternal twins in size, shape, drivetrain, and price,” Phillips wrote. “The Lexus is refined, opulent, and a styling imperium. The Toyota is stiff-riding, with more direct steering, and is as obscenely quick as Clyde Drexler on a fast break.”
“It had traction control, in an era when a BMW E36 M3 didn’t,” Paul Horrell wrote in a retrospective article on the A80 and its legacy. Why do some cars become cult classics when others don’t? No one can say for sure — but if you’ve ever wondered why this generation of Supras has endured, this is one of several factors that helps explain it.
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